October 2016

Sunday, November 08, 2009

"marvel at how well the Creator attends to his creation, providing the perfect teacher at the perfect time"

Those words are from The Anchoress, as she helps herself and her readers cope not just with all that has taken place of late but what might take place in the near future. It's a must read, one that should be read in its entirety, but I want to steal a portion of it to lead into an experience I had this weekend:

If you are feeling undone by recent events -and that is not unreasonable- do yourself a favor and read the whole message, which is not long, and then marvel at how well the Creator attends to his creation, providing the perfect teacher at the perfect time.

Sound advice filled with wisdom that does not come solely from The Anchoress. The "whole message" link takes us to Pope Benedict's words and these in particular:

We are always searching for the Word of God. It is not merely present in us. Just reading it does not mean necessarily that we have truly understood the Word of God. The danger is that we only see the human words and do not find the true actor within, the Holy Spirit. We do not find the Word in the words.

The Anchoress’ words, and those especially from Pope Benedict, provide the perfect introduction to an experience Mrs. BH and I had yesterday at a ‘new’ (for us) Catholic church.

Fr. Mike Joly (Jo-lee), who happened to have been officially named pastor of the Church at a special service this morning, presided over the Saturday evening service and I tell ya, we may have found the Church we want to stick with. And not just because of Joly, though his presence (and presentation) was pretty powerful.

Liturgy to some can become rote, especially when read in the most rote of ways… but think of a blind priest… he can’t read it… and yes, I’m aware that after awhile, it’s all memorized anyway but this guy… he lived the liturgy… by that I mean he brought it to life… it was quite an experience… blind since he was 5 (not sure yet how he became that way), he’s been ordained since his late 20’s (he was even featured in this New York Times piece some 15 years or so ago) and so there’s no doubt that he’d done this countless times, but it was as if he was doing it for the first time that evening and I was sincerely moved by the man, by his faith, by his passion, by his love for what he was doing.

Think about it for just a second, here’s a guy who’s a blind priest… ponder the faith that this takes… I mean… the dude’s blind… but clearly, to me and I'm sure to others, he sees... and based on that particular service, he sees so much more than the rest of us. He supplied some much needed nourishment to me yesterday, some solace and assurance that Someone is indeed in charge and in control.

The Anchoress' post was a timely reminder that in truth "the Creator, while attending his creation, provides the perfect teacher at the perfect time" and this teacher, and his blindness, very much helped me to see and "find The Word in the words".